‘Huge,” a new series about overweight teens at a weight-loss camp, starts tonight, and I couldn’t be happier if I’d just discovered calorie-free potato chips.
I mean, are you kidding? Fat teens on TV — who aren’t just there to compete on “The Biggest Loser“? Overweight teens (sometimes badly overweight) who are treated like regular kids who love music, clothes, donuts and sometimes each other? When was the last time you saw huge kids kissing?
Stay tuned.
Part of the reason it’s all possible is Winnie Holzman, the writer for series like “My So-Called Life,” The Wonder Years,” “thirtysomething” and even the Broadway show “Wicked.”
Her name is enough to fast-track any project, even among the scared rabbits who run TV these days.
The fact that 56-year-old Holzman’s 24-year-old daughter, Savannah Dooley, created the project and brought mom aboard was a win-win. Or, in the case of a show about fat camp, a lose/win.
Meet first-timer-at-fat-camp Willamina, aka Will (played by Nikki Blonsky of “Hairspray”), a kid with a chip on her shoulder — and chips hidden in her suitcase. Willamina is something of a misery, with no desire to be at camp, no desire to lose weight and no intention of staying.
Her NBFF is Becca (Raven Goodwin), a good-natured kid who just wants everyone to be happy.
The other first-timer is blonde beauty Amber, played by Hayley Hasselhoff (yes, the kid who found her drunken father, “Baywatch” star David Hasselhoff, barely breathing). Amber immediately catches the eye of the boys — including Ian (Ari Stidham) and even a camp counselor, George (Zander Eckhouse).
Willamina is the camp’s junk-food dealer who undermines the other campers’ will to get skinny by secretly trafficking from her secret stash — until she is nailed by Dr. Rand (Gina Torres), the camp’s owner.
The camp’s policy is immediate dismissal for anyone hoarding, heaving or hiding.
So does Willamina get the boot from fat-kid boot camp? I’ll bet you a pound of dark chocolates with almonds that she gets a second chance.
And, in case you didn’t notice, I love this show!